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Tribe gambles on lawsuit, ad campaign to secure casino's future

LAS CRUCES - The Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma filed a motion in federal court Wednesday to counter a recent federal order that told the tribe to stop gaming at an Akela casino.

Also Wednesday, the tribe planned to launch a TV advertisement in the Albuquerque and Washington, D.C., markets, which asks President Barack Obama to keep the casino from being shut down.

Jeff Houser, chairman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, said the tribe's motion, filed in federal court in Oklahoma City, is aimed at forcing the gaming commission to recognize the terms of a 2007 legal settlement that the tribe believes gives it a legal basis for gaming.

Houser said the action is different from one take last fall that also referred to the settlement.

Philip Hogen, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, issued a notice of violation to the tribe for paper bingo it has been conducting since April. But the tribe has continued its bingo operation.

Houser said in addition to the legal action filed Wednesday, the tribe plans to appeal Hogen's decision before the full three-member commission. Houser contended that because Hogen is an outgoing, Bush-appointed member, he shouldn't be making such a significant decision before the Obama appointee takes over.

The National Indian Gaming Commission couldn't be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Houser said the goal of the TV advertisement "is to not allow Chairman Hogen" to decide the outcome of the violation notice.

"That could be done in a number of ways," he said. The commission "could just hold it in abeyance until a new person is appointed or they could appoint a new person right now."

The tribe announced it also paid for a full-page advertisement in the Thursday edition of Roll Call, a Washington, D.C., newspaper that focuses on congressional affairs.

Asked about the tribe's media campaign, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. replied in a statement: "The NIGC's job is to enforce the law. I believe it's inappropriate to try to undermine the commission's authority."

In an e-mail, a spokeswoman for Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said the congressman "feels it is important to recognize that there is a process and rule of law that needs to be respected in this case."

"If the National Indian Gaming Commission has ruled that the Fort Sill must end their activities, then he must support that decision," said spokeswoman Sara Schreiber. "However, if the Fort Sill Apache feel that decision was reached in error, he does encourage them to exercise any and all appeal opportunities."

Members of the Fort Sill tribe are descendants of the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apaches , who once roamed southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona and northern Mexico. Tribal members were relocated as prisoners of war to Florida and later to a military base in Oklahoma in the late 1800s.